Production of Tien Kung III (“Sky Bow III”) and Hsiung Feng III (“Brave Wind III”) missiles should be sped up, provided that quality is not affected, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, adding that higher production rates are needed as the Chinese military threat grows.
Tsai made the remarks during a visit to the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology with National Security Council Secretary-General David Lee (李大維), Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) and Chief of General Staff Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) to boost morale among research staff.
The officials were briefed on the mass production of missiles before inspecting the facility.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the institute’s founding and personnel should be commended for embodying the founding spirit of the institute: to ensure Taiwan’s defense autonomy and national security in the face of changing external circumstances, Tsai said.
The Tien Kung III and Hsiung Feng III missiles, which help Taiwan maintain a formidable defense, are the pride of the institute, but their success is due to the diligence of generations of researchers, Tsai said.
“The institute’s researchers laid the foundation for its success by daring to brave the challenges they faced and learning from their failures,” she said, citing the institute’s motto: unwavering patriotism, innovative creativity, pragmatic application of the scientific method and the spirit of teamwork.
As the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Tsai said she is well aware of the institute’s importance and has increased its funding.
She said she has also sought to improve relations between the institute and the Ministry of National Defense to ensure that the institute’s knowledge would find suitable applications.
Tsai called on Yen, who doubles as the institute’s chairman, and Deputy Minister of National Defense Chang Kuan-chun (張冠群) to carefully plan the future development of the institute, focusing on expediting the manufacturing of quality missiles.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
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